I have recently discovered a new musical, The In-Between by Laura Tisdall, about a girl who goes through the wrong door and finds herself in a place in between worlds. The In-Between, or TIB, has never been staged, but there is a concept album available on the website (http://www.theinbetweenmusical.com/), on iTunes, and on YouTube. Instead of having one actor sing one specific character throughout the album, as would be in an official recording, Laura Tisdall asked nine West End stars to lend their voices to the concept album. Cassandra Compton, Sabrina Aloueche, Lauren Samuels and Alexia Khadime sing the part of Flick Wimple. Diane Pilkington and Julie Atherton sing the part of Alice Wimple, and Daniel Boys, Hadley Fraser and Liam Tamne sing the part of Calicus.
Hadley Fraser truly shines in Beyond the Door. If you listen to only one song from the TIB album, listen to this. I’ve always loved Hadley, but he is outstanding in Beyond the Door as Calicus, a Guide in the In-Between. Alexia Khadime stands out in the duet Not Alone as Flick, an underachieving teenager, and Julie Atherton gives a stunning performance in When I Was Nineteen as Alice, the older sister having to raise Flick after their parents died.
Laura Tisdall has said that she is trying to find a producer for TIB. If I was in charge of casting, my dream original cast would be Alexia Khadime as Flick, Julie Atherton as Alice, and Hadley Fraser as Calicus. After that cast, I would like to see Lauren Samuels as Flick after Alexia in the first replacement cast, Diane Pilkington as Alice after Julie, and Liam Tamne as Calicus after Hadley.
Hadley Fraser and Alexia Khadime are leaving Les Misérables this summer, to be replaced by Tam Mutu as Javert after Hadley and Danielle Hope as Éponine after Alexia. (Tam and Danielle better give the performance of their lives to follow Hadley and Alexia) As saddening as this news is about Alexia and Hadley leaving, there is hope that this means they are going to TIB to originate the roles of Flick and Calicus. This is just speculation on my part, but I’m praying at least Hadley does TIB.
The music in TIB is amazing. It sucks you right in from the opening notes, especially in ‘Beyond the Door.’ If you love theatre, listen to the TIB album. It has all the makings of the next big show. It may not be the next Wicked, but it’s close.
